Washington state House passes eviction reform bill

A bill that passed the Washington state House would give tenants 14 days to comply with a notice to pay rent or vacate instead of just three days.

Author:
KING Staff

Published:
10:17 PM PDT March 14, 2019

Updated:
10:17 PM PDT March 14, 2019

Editor's note: The video above was originally published in August 2018.

The Washington state House passed a bill that would require landlords to give tenants a 14-day notice when facing eviction. House Bill 1453 addresses the state’s current “pay or vacate” law that guides evictions.

Under the current law, tenants who miss rent payments must pay the amount due or vacate the property within three days of being served a notice.

According to the Tenants Union of Washington State, evictions can take about three weeks from when rent is due to the deadline for the local sheriff to complete the eviction.

Other lengths of time were considered, but the 14 days noticed passed. Rep. Amy Whalen (D- 48th District) reasoned that many people are paid every two weeks, and the increased time would give tenants another pay period to come up with the missed rent.

“So, they get a paycheck and if they’re having to struggle with the rent that gives them another two weeks’ pay period to get caught up, get in touch with their networks and make the rent right,” Whalen said on the House floor.

According to a 2018 report, the Seattle Women's Commission and the Housing Justice Project found that of the 1,218 eviction cases they identified, almost 88 percent of the respondents became homelesst.